July 19 - Dragonrider

Dragonrider

This Day In History

64

Great Fire of Rome: a fire begins to burn in the merchant area of Rome and soon burns completely out of control. According to a popular, but untrue, legend, Nero fiddled as the city burned.

1545

The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology.

1553

Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after only nine days of reign.

1843

Brunel's steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull or screw propeller, and the largest vessel in the world.

1900

The first line of the Paris Métro opens for operation.

1963

Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 metres (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.

1976

Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.

1983

The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published.

Famous Birthdays

1670

Richard Leveridge, English bass and composer (d. 1758)

1759

Seraphim of Sarov, Russian Orthodox Saint (d. 1833)

1814

Samuel Colt, American firearms inventor (d. 1862)

1834

Edgar Degas, French painter (d. 1917)

1865

Charles Horace Mayo, American surgeon and founder of the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939)

1924

Arthur Rankin, Jr., American writer, producer and director

1946

Stephen Coonts, American author

1947

Bernie Leadon, American musician and songwriter (The Eagles)
Brian May, CBE, English guitarist, songwriter, and astrophysicist (Queen)

1976

Benedict Cumberbatch, British actor

1982

Jared Padalecki, American actor